


Had to have high, high hopes for a living

by eringeosphere



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Don't copy to another site, Families of Choice, Gen, raised by wolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-06-24 14:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19725910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eringeosphere/pseuds/eringeosphere
Summary: Jason Grace and Percy Jackson are raised by wolves.





	1. vicissitude

**Author's Note:**

> So I should be writing my PhD thesis, but this idea would not get out of my head. Wrote this in a day with the hope it will let me focus a bit, but I have _so many ideas_. Please excuse any mistakes, which are all mine.
> 
> I'm blaming Rynna_Aurelia and her [fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13832307/chapters/31813254) for dragging me back to Percy Jackson when I've not read the books for years.

i.

In one tapestry the three Fates weave, the thread of Percy Jackson’s life remains tangled around West Coast of North America, bound there until he is dragged into his heritage by way of a car crash and an unexpected encounter with a Minotaur. In this tapestry, Jason Grace is left by his mother, separated from his sister and is raised by Lupa’s wolf pack until such a time as they leave him to find his way to Camp Jupiter. He grows up as a member of the Roman Legion, but never quite seems to call the camp home.

But the thing about mortals is that they’re unpredictable. Certain events might be prophesied, fixed points in the fabric the Fates weave, but the events that lead to them and the participants in them - well. Who’s to say things can’t shift around a little bit, with just a slight slip of a hand?

ii.

So maybe Sally Jackson is tired. Maybe she's scared. Being a single mother is hard, and she can’t honestly recall the last time she managed a full night's sleep. She loves Percy more than anything, but two weeks ago she got a call from the nursery saying that her three year old had managed to strangle a snake that had gotten into his crib, and one week ago a strange old lady with claws instead of fingernails had followed the two of them around the park for over an hour before Sally had slipped into a group of runners and lost them. She doesn't know what to do.

Percy is brilliant and clever and Poseidon's blood runs so very, very strong. Sleep eludes Sally most nights from the fear that she'll look away and her son will have been snatched from her.

So maybe her boss notices how stressed she's been and tells her to take a long weekend. 

"I've got a plane ticket Portland that I can’t use," they say. "I was supposed to go this weekend but my cousin's getting married. I’ve got a cabin up there - take your kid and go take a break.”

And Sally knows it's a risk but - she needs out. What finally makes her mind up is that the summer solstice falls over the weekend - Zeus will be distracted and unlikely to pay attention to one very young demigod boarding a plane. 

It’s not the seaside cabin in Montauk that she’s taken Percy to a handful of times already, but it’ll do. And so she goes.

iii.

The state of Oregon and the small cabin by the remote lake that her boss owns is a breath of fresh air. She already misses the sea, but the rugged edges of the mountains are a different kind of beauty. Besides, Percy is more than happy paddling around the lake. For the first time in a long time, Sally sleeps soundly and doesn’t dream.

The calmness doesn’t last. The next day, Percy disappears. Between feeding Percy breakfast and telling him not to go out of sight of the cabin and Sally doing the washing up - he’s gone. Sally tears through the forest looking for him, but it's not until dusk that she finds him. 

When she does, gasping and shaking from exhaustion and fear, Percy isn’t alone. Sally bursts into a small clearing, muscles aching, following the faint sound of her son’s voice chattering away. Percy beams at the sight of her, then runs in her direction, dragging a blond haired, blue eyed child by the hand behind him. 

"This is Jason!" Percy informs her gleefully, waving the hand still holding onto the other boy’s at her. And Sally nods, and smiles, absently noting Jason’s slightly ragged clothing and distinct lack of shoes. Most of her attention is captured by the wolf pack lounging and watching the two boys with warm amber eyes.

"Hullo," Jason greets her, his voice soft like he hasn't used it for a bit. 

Sally knows deep in her bones that this is no ordinary child, just as she knows that this is no ordinary wolf pack.

iv.

Sally Jackson may have fallen in love with a Greek God, but that doesn't mean that she's unaware of all the other myths and legends of the ancient world. So when the leader of the wolf pack, russet coloured coat gleaming in the dappled sunlight, pads towards her, Sally bows her head and greets her with, "Lupa."

The wolf’s lips curl upwards and Sally is gets the distinct impression that the wolf is pleased by her recognition. 

_Greetings, Sally Jackson. You are a long way from home._

Sally nods, then says carefully, still kneeling in the carpet of leaves on the forest floor from where her legs had given out on her, “We intend to visit, only. A few days, no more.”

Lupa’s head tips to one side. _You need not worry about my pack whilst they are here._ Lupa’s eyes flick to where Percy and Jason are crouched by a log, peering at intently at something crawling on the mossy surface.

 _Your son’s scent is ... noticeably strong._

Sally very deliberately does not wince. Her next words are a risk, but oh - hasn’t this entire venture been one long risk after another? And if the stories are anything to go by, Lupa has rarely shown an interest in the affairs of other gods beyond whether or not their children have the strength to survive what life throws at them.

Sally takes a breath. “The children of Poseidon often are.”

Lupa snorts. _The ocean cannot pretend to be anything else. Better to be Greek, than Roman, as one of the Stormbringer’s get. The Romans only ever feared the sea._

Sally hmms thoughtfully. “Jason seems to like him well enough.”

At that, Lupa’s face shifts into a sly smile. _Well, lightening often goes hand in hand with a storm._

v.

The wolf pack lingers for two more days. Two more days of Sally looking at her son playing rough and tumble with his cousin. It’s such a short period of time, yet Sally can see a choice stretching out before her with astounding clarity.

Her return ticket, an evening flight out of Portland International Airport, burns a hole in her pocket as she makes her way towards the wolf pack gathered on the pebble beach on the edge of the lake. Jason and Percy are splashing around in the shallow water, their shrieks of laughter clearly audible over the gentle swoosh of the waves.

Two of the wolves lift their heads as she approaches, but Sally only has eyes for the leader of the pack.

“Lupa,” Sally calls in greeting, then, steeling herself, continues with, “I would ask a favour.”

At that, all of the wolves turn to look at Sally. Lupa rises to her feet and pads towards her, even as the pack shift and move away, giving them a little privacy.

 _Speak,_ Lupa demands. 

Sally breathes out through her nose. “My son already attracts monsters to him, and he is but three. I do not know what differences may lie between those of Greek descent and those of Roman, but I would ask as a mother who wishes only to protect her son, will you take my son and train him?”

Lupa considers her for a long moment. _I care little for the games the gods play. If you are strong, you live. If not, you die. It is the way the pack survives._

Sally squares her shoulders. “Will you take him? The same way you have taken Jason into your pack?

Lupa lifts her head and locks eyes with Sally. It’s more than a little terrifying, matching the gaze of a wolf’s who has seen more death, fought more battles, spilt more blood than Sally can possibly imagine. Sally refuses to blink.

Weakness is the enemy.

 _He cannot go to Camp Jupiter,_ Lupa states, unyielding.

“I’m not asking you to take him there,” Sally replies, equally unyielding. 

_If we take him, I cannot guarantee his safety. You will not see him again until he returns to you of his own accord, alive, or he will die._

Sally’s mouth tightens. She could turn around and walk away. Take Percy back to the other side of the country and try to find some way to hide him from the monsters that will continue to come after him. But this will give him a chance. It will give Sally time to find a way to hide her son’s scent. 

“If Percy chooses to remain, then I can accept that.”

That seems to have surprised Lupa, if the way that her ears flick back are any indication.

_If Percy chooses?_

Sally smiles, teeth bared. “It’s my son’s life. Of course I’m going to let him choose.”

At that, Lupa huffs out a laugh. _I think I can see why He chose you, Sally Jackson._

vi.

“Boys?” Sally calls, walking down towards the shoreline of the lake, fixing the scene in her memory - the light reflecting off the water and the brightness of Percy’s smile as he turns to face her and breaks into a run. Jason follows behind a moment later.

Percy barrels right into her, wrapping both arms around a leg and latching on. Jason is a little more hesitant, but darts in for a quick hug before letting go again. It’s then, as Jason leaves a slight damp patch on her shin, that Sally realises that although Percy had been wading in the water just moments ago, he’s perfectly dry from head to toe. A shiver runs down her spine - Percy’s showing signs of demigod powers already?

“Mom - we found so many crabs!! Like at least 5!” Percy holds up one of his hands to demonstrate.

“Is that so?” Sally asks, smiling. 

Jason nods, staunchly supporting his cousin. “We saw fish, too, Aunt Sally.”

At the slightly unexpected title, Sally blinks. 

Percy grins up at her. “Lupa said our dads were family, which means that you must be Jason’s Aunt!”

At that, Sally crouches down and draws both of them into a hug. “You’re absolutely right.” Focusing on Jason, she reasures him, “I’m honoured for you to call me Aunt.”

Jason smiles shyly, and Sally thinks, had things been a little different, she might have managed to make room in her home for a second child. 

But Sally can delay no longer. Gently, she places both hands on her son’s shoulders and meets his eyes, so similar to his father’s.

“Percy, love. I’ve got a choice to make, and I’m going to need your help to do it.”

Percy frowns but nods, taking in her solemn tone. 

“Do you remember the lady at the park last week?” Sally begins, wanting to give Percy some sort of explanation for why she’s even considering this choice.

“The scary one?” Percy asks.

Sally nods. “The scary one. I’m afraid she’s not going to be the only scary sort of person who’s going to be coming after you soon. Not because of anything you’ve done, but because of who your father is. The scary people don’t like him very much, and unfortunately that gets passed on to you.”

It’s a gross simplification, obviously, but there’s more important matters to be discussed here.

“I haven’t worked out a way to stop them finding you, yet.” Sally continues. “I will, but until I do it’s going to be dangerous for you.” This is the hard part. “Lupa and her pack have agreed to train you, away from the monsters who already know you, if you want, but I can’t go with you if you stay with them.”

Percy swallows. “What about you? Won’t the monsters go after you?”

Sally shakes her head, because isn’t it so like Percy to worry about everyone aside from himself? “The monsters won’t be interested in me,” she tells him gently. “They won’t notice me, I promise.”

Percy is wide-eyed, shifting from foot to foot. Sally doesn’t know what he’s thinking about, exactly. 

“You can come back with me,” Sally tells Percy, because he needs to know that that is an option. She doesn’t want Percy to think that she doesn’t want to keep him. “We can find a way to hide, but I can’t teach you to fight them.”

Percy chews on his lip, hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Then he looks away, back over his shoulder. He looks at Jason, whose shoulders have slumped slightly, and is looking at them with a faint sheen in his eyes. 

“What about Jason?” Percy asks, and Sally wonders why she thought there was going to be any other outcome.

“Jason is staying with the pack. He’s got somewhere else to go, once he’s strong enough,” Sally replies. 

And Percy nods, then flings himself forward and wraps his skinny arms around her neck. 

“I love you, mum,” he whispers in her ear, and Sally grips him a little bit tighter.

“I love you too, Percy. So much. Don’t ever doubt that, understand?”

vii.

Sally’s final memory of her son from that weekend is this:

Percy stands outlined against the shimmering surface of the lake, one arm flung over Jason’s shoulders. Lupa’s pack circles around them, restless. They’ll be leaving as soon as she’s gone. Jason is a little red-eyed, from when he’d cried after Percy had told him that he wasn’t leaving. Percy’s face is calm, but it’s the sort of calm that hides a riptide and Sally has never been more proud. 

Sally turns around and walks away and doesn’t look back. 

viii.

Sally Jackson doesn’t see her son again for three years.


	2. pertinacious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy learns, adapts, survives.

ix.

When Percy made his decision to stay with Lupa’s pack, his mind had managed to focus on two things. First, that Jason had been way too sad when he’d first met him. Even in the company of the wolves - who were awesome and scary and way bigger than normal wolves. Also really harsh teachers but - 

Jason. Sad. Jason alone. Jason who was family. Cousin, technically - and after meeting wolves that weren’t really wolves that could talk, being told that he was the son of a God didn’t really surprise Percy. 

Not that Lupa was telling him which godly parent had apparently fallen in love with his mum and then left. ‘Work it out yourself’ had been her general attitude when Percy and Jason had asked. 

Okay, Percy may be getting sidetracked slightly. Staying with Lupa. Reason number two: his mum had said that the monsters were after _him_. Not his mum. Him. 

The monsters will keep coming after him. Until Percy can beat the monsters, he’s not safe to be around, and the thought of his mum getting hurt because of him makes something inside of him hurt.

So. Join a wolf pack, protect his mum by not being there. ‘Protect Jason’ gets added to his list of important things within about three hours of his mum leaving, after the younger boy had tripped and nearly face planted into a tree root. Learn to fight off the monsters.

In all honesty, Percy had imagined a lot less running.

x. 

It doesn’t take long for Percy to lose track of how long it’s been since he left his mum. He keeps the slip of stiff paper that his mum had written the address of their apartment on buried deep in the pocket of his jeans. Percy can't actually read the words yet, but it's nice to know that he has a way to track his mum down when he eventually gets big and strong.

The days whirl into a blended mess of training and lessons that leave little time for thinking about anything else. He only registers that time has passed in the way that the nights begin to grow longer and colder. 

His shoes go missing sometime in between wading across a stream and scrambling up the rocky bank on the other side, and after a little while the soles of his feet toughen enough that he doesn’t miss them. 

Percy adapts to sleeping curled up on a pile of blankets in the cave that the pack often returns to, or the ground, or in trees, or in bushes, if they've travelled further afield. Jason had a little bit of a leg up on him in that sense, but soon Percy doesn’t even remember what it felt like to fall asleep alone, without the reassuring pressure of Jason or one of the wolves (or both) against his side.

xi.

Lupa does not simply teach the boys the means to hold their own in a physical manner; her teaching also include the history of their heritage - both Roman and Greek. This is met with varying levels of success, admittedly. 

_… and thus begat Dionysus by his Greek calling, or Bacchus in his Roman guise, youngest of the Olympians. And so concludes the tale of the origins of the Olympians._

Percy forcibly drags his attention back from where he’d been half distracted by a bird half way up a tree at the sound of Lupa’s pointed cough. 

_Perseus. Were you listening to the last bit?_

Percy nods vigorously, despite his dislike of his full name. “Yes. I was. For sure!”

Lupa hums thoughtfully. _Would you care to tell me who the Olympians are, then? They are likely to be very important as you grow older._

Percy frowns. He knows that much, alright. Lupa’s already covered the ‘strong demigods attract strong monsters’, so odds are good that him and Jason have a godly parent with some wallop.

“Wait, what was the question?” Percy asks.

Lupa doesn’t sigh, but Percy gets the impression it’s a near thing. _Who are the Olympians, Perceus?”_

Percy nods. “Okay, I know this for sure.” He brings his hands up in front of him and starts counting them off. “So there’s lightning guy, ocean dude, lightning guy's jealous wife -“

Behind him, there’s a faint wheezing noise. Percy plows on regardless. 

“-plant lady, smart lady, sun dude, that guy’s twin sister …miss hunter! Er. War man, lover lady, volcano dude, messenger person, and … hearth lady or wine guy? And dead dude and his wife are also kinda important?”

Percy looks up from his fingers. Lupa is staring at him, mouth dropped slightly open.

“What?” Percy glances sideways at Jason, sitting cross legged next to him. “I’m pretty sure I got them all!”

Then Percy and Jason are treated to the sight of Lupa, several thousand year old goddess, trainer of Romulus, Remus and countless demigods thereafter, defender of the Roman Empire and Camp Jupiter, flop onto her belly and cover her eyes with her paws.

Jason breaks out into giggles and Percy can’t possibly be mad, if he managed to get his quiet cousin to laugh.

xii.

Percy creeps through the long grass, placing each foot with a care and attention he didn’t possess a couple of months ago. His quarry sits ten paces ahead of him. It hasn’t spotted him yet. 

Percy can’t see very far, as the grass is at least as tall as he is, but the faint tugging in his chest that Percy has started to associate with _Jason_ make him pretty certain that his cousin is circling around off to his left.

All to plan so far. Percy inches forward a few more paces. 

Then the wind shifts. The rabbit lifts its head and Percy freezes. _Please don’t look this way._ Percy begs. _I do not want to have to track down_ another _one._

No such luck. Percy sees the rabbit nostrils flair, and he throws caution to the wind. Percy springs forward into a run, swipes for the rabbit, misses, but somehow manages to scare it into jumping right at Jason. It’s more luck than anything that leads Jason to successfully lock his arms around it before it escapes them both.

There’s a moment of slightly stunned silence. 

“Nice, Jason,” Percy gasps, hands on his knees.

Jason flashes him a hesitant smile at the praise. “What now?”

_Now, kill it._

At the unexpected voice, Jason and Percy both startle badly, and Percy’s head whips around in the direction of the speaker. 

“What!” he exclaims, in sync with Jason.

Lupa’s expression is implacable. Percy is momentarily very jealous over the wolf’s apparent ability to sneak up on both of them through the dried up grass. 

_There comes a time when every living creature must die._ Lupa states.

“Even the gods?” The words are out of his mouth before Percy can stop them, and he immediately wishes that he could take them back. 

Jason sucks in a breath next to him. “Percy didn’t mean that!” he exclaims, and Percy feels a surge of fondness for Jason, so willing to try to dig his silly cousin out of trouble of his own making. 

Fortunately, Lupa merely looks thoughtful. _Yes, Perseus, even the gods may fade one day,_ she says, ignoring the face Percy pulls at the sound of his full name.

Lupa continues. _You delay, little demigods. If you want dinner this evening, kill your catch._

As one, Jason and Percy look down at the rabbit clutched in Jason’s arms.

“Fine,” Percy mutters, and takes half a step towards his cousin, not that he has any idea whatsoever of exactly how he’s supposed to kill the unfortunate rabbit. As it turns out, Percy doesn’t need to, as his movement startles the animal badly enough that it kicks out with its back legs.

Jason yelps, loosens his grip, and the silly animal pushes out of his hands. Percy blinks, and it disappears into the undergrowth.

“I’m sorry,” Jason blurts out, wide-eyed.

Lupa pads forward. _Apologies cannot change events. They are simply air and sound._

Jason swallows and Percy blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind. “It’s not dark yet!”

Lupa turns her head to him. 

Oh, Percy really wishes he’d manage to think things all the way through once in a while, as he fumbles for the words to continue. “Well - you said we had until sundown to catch a rabbit, right? Right. And it’s still light, so. We’re not out of time yet! Let us try again.”

Percy folds his arms over his chest and glares at Lupa, nodding once - _show no weakness_ \- echoing in his head.

Lupa glances up at the sun. _You only have a few hours until the sun sets. You’d best move fast if you want dinner this evening._ She turns and pads out of the grass field in the direction of the forest. Percy stares after her, surprised that that had actually worked.

Percy looks at Jason. “What a pain -” he begins, then immediately cuts himself off at the sight of Jason’s face.

“Hey no!” Percy exclaims, shifting closer to Jason and wrapping him in a half hug. “What’s wrong - don’t look so upset!”

Jason’s voice wobbles. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

“Oi!” Percy shakes Jason gently. “Hey, I’m not mad, don’t worry about it! I’d have probably done the same thing - you know what I’m like.”

Jason hiccups. “Sorry.”

“Nope - you’ve got nothing to be sorry for. We just have to catch another one!”

Jason hesitates, then nods. Percy grins crookedly. “Great, so - here’s what I think we should do…”

xiii.

Percy can barely see straight. His entire body feels like one big bruise and he can’t breathe properly. He digs his arms underneath him into the dirt and manages to push himself up onto his elbows, but a yelping noise is all the warning he has before a body crashes into him.

“Sorry,” Jason gasps, his legs sprawled across Percy’s back.

Percy reaches an arm around and squeezes Jason’s leg. He doesn’t have enough air to answer him.

Percy lifts his head, and meets Lupa’s calm gaze. The wolf crouches low in the clearing. A handful of other members of the pack: Latia, Cassia, Seneca and Avitus, ring around the edge, watching. They do not interfere. 

_Are you done?_ Lupa asks.

Percy knows how this goes. Percy and Jason both know how this goes - Lupa will not stop until she has taught her lesson, or until the two demigods give up. Percy and Jason have yet to give up when she’s been teaching them. 

But Lupa has never pushed them this hard before. 

Percy stares at Lupa, silent. 

_Are you done?_ She repeats.

And Percy, for the first time in a long time, really wishes his mum was here. Wishes that he wasn’t. Then Jason shifts slightly, and Percy remembers why he’d decided to stay. Percy bows his head. Takes a deep breath in, he forces leaden arms to move again. Pushes himself onto his hands and knees, then with a yell of effort, staggers to his feet.

The world spins and Percy very nearly topples straight over again. His head _hurts_ , a dull, throbbing ache.

“Perce?” Jason croaks.

Percy doesn’t - can’t turn his head to look at him. He daren’t take his eyes off Lupa. “Once more, Jace. Come on. One more.”

Jason lets out a wheezy laugh and Percy hears him clamber awkwardly to his feet behind him. “On three?”

Percy’s answer is more of a snarl. “Why wait?”

 _Very good, little demigods._ Lupa purrs as they approach. 

Percy and Jason circle Lupa carefully, waiting for a chance. Lupa doesn't give them one. Her hind legs coil beneath her and then Percy has a seven foot tall, several hundred pound wolf lunging towards him.

Several months of newly found reflexes kick in past the fog in his head. Percy ducks beneath her front leg, pushes off the balls of his feet and jumps, somehow landing on Lupa’s back. Percy wraps his arms around Lupa’s throat and squeezes. His world narrows down to flashes of fur and lurching movement, faint yelps and then - a very human cry of pain.

_Jason?_

Percy’s grip loosens. There’s a violent jerking motion and Percy’s flying - or maybe falling - he’s not, he’s not sure.

Percy hits the ground hard, and then there’s nothing at all.

Percy drifts, for a while. He thinks he might be being carried, but the people surrounding him are warm and familiar but it’s easier to just let himself spiral back down into the dark.

Percy wakes slowly. He can smell woodsmoke and cracking his eyelids open gradually brings into focus the rough stone stone ceiling of their cave, lit in flickering shades of orange and black.

There’s a warm weight on his chest. Percy looks down. Jason is sprawled on top of him, head resting on his chest, asleep. Faint puffs of air tickle Percy’s collarbone as his cousin inhales and exhales. They're both covered in an old wool blanket, but Percy spies the neat bandage wrapped around one of Jason's arms. 

_Welcome back, Perseus._

“It’s Percy,” comes his ingrained response, even as he twists his head to take in a little more of his surroundings. He glances toward the entrance of the cave.

"It's nighttime?" He guesses, based on the lack of sunlight filtering in.

_Indeed. You've been unconscious for several hours. Jason was worried._

Percy blinks. Focuses back on his cousin. He’s not really sure what he can say to that, because Percy doesn’t think he’d change his actions at all. He clumsily wraps one of his arms around Jason’s waist. 

“What else was I supposed to do?” He mumbles into Jason’s hair. “You hadn’t told us to stop, and we couldn’t run. We won’t always be able to run, so better to go out fighting than give up when there’s still a chance.”

Lupa doesn’t reply for a long while, enough that Percy begins to drift off to sleep again. _A hard lesson to learn little one, but one to remember._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looked up so many random things in regards to this chapter. Many thanks to ['Rosedraquia'](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosedraquia/pseuds/Rosedraquia) for beta reading, and feel free to let me know what you think!


	3. Before. After.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jason loses one family but gains another.

xiv. 

For the rest of his life, Jason will divide his memories into Before and After.

Things he knows from Before:

He loves his sister. Thalia is the best. She reads to him, and plays games with him, and comforted him when he hurt his lip. 

He loves his mom. She’s not there as much as Thalia, but she has a pretty smile and always smells nice.

Jason is happy. Why would he not be? 

Then, one day, his mum bundles him and Thalia into their car and tells them that they’re going on a drive. The drive is looooong. Long enough for him to fall asleep to the gentle rocking of the car.

He wakes up to Thalia nudging him in his side. 

“Come on, sleepy. We’re here.”

Jason grumbles wordlessly at her, batting away her hands. Jason lets Thalia undo his seatbelt, but stubbornly climbs out of the car himself, his feeting hitting the dirt in a small car park and sending up clouds of dust. He takes in the expanse of trees and bushes in his new surroundings and realises that he has no idea where they are. He doesn’t recognise anything here. 

Jason’s mom comes around the side of the car and grabs one of his hands. “I thought it’d be nice to go somewhere a bit different, for a change of scenery. What do you think, Jason?”

“S’nice,” Jason mumbles. It is nice, with trees bigger than any that he's seen before, stretching up and up towards the blue, blue sky. 

“Good,” his mom says, and starts walking in the direction of a path that leads away from the small collection of parked cars. Thalia runs to catch up and trails a step or so behind them as Jason’s mom guides him along

They haven’t walked very far along the path when his mom suddenly stops and throws a hand onto her forehead. “Oh, I’m so forgetful. I completely forgot to grab the food out of the trunk of the car.” 

She turns to Thalia, who’s got what Jason thinks is an unhappy look on her face. Jason can’t always tell if Thalia’s unhappy because her unhappy face makes her look like she wants to hit something, but Thalia _often_ looks like she wants to hit something. He’s pretty sure he’s got it right this time, though.

“Why don’t you go back to the car and grab the picnic basket, Thalia dear?” 

“But mum -”

“Go on, Thalia.”

Thalia scowls. “Fine,” she mutters, taking the car keys out of their mom’s hand, then turns and stomps off in the direction of the car. Jason watches her go, his stomach churning like the time he’d drank some milk that had gone bad. 

Then his mother starts to speak. 

“Juno Regina, Goddess of Marriage -” 

She gets no further because there’s a lady in front of them who wasn’t there before. Tall and beautiful and somehow terrifying. His mother talks with her, but Jason isn’t paying attention to the words, too busy staring at the lady’s robe - a brilliant blinding white that glows.

Then the lady crouches down in front of Jason, and the smile on her face is anything but kind. Jason takes a small step back. He doesn’t want to be here, he wants to leave, to go home. She reaches out, her fingers brush Jason’s forehead, and then - 

xv.

Jason wakes up. 

The ground beneath him is cold and hard. Carefully, Jason pushes himself upright, wobbling a little on slightly unsteady legs. He’s standing in what might have once been a house, but the ceiling is missing and the walls are no more than half-fallen over piles of stone bricks. Jason turns in a slow circle.

“Mom?” he calls. 

No reply.

“Sis? Thalia?” he calls, a little louder.

It’s quiet. So quiet. Jason starts searching the house, looking for his family hiding amongst the ruined building. He checks every room and finds no one. Finally, he finds a gap in the walls which leads to the outside and Jason staggers out into the sunshine, blinking back tears. 

There’s a wolf waiting for him.

xvi.

The wolf introduces herself as Lupa.

She tells Jason that he has been brought here because one of his parents was not human. Because one of them is a God. Because this is where Roman demigods are left when their parents wish them to be trained by Lupa and her pack.

Jason doesn’t care about any of it, and flat out refuses to go with her.

“No,” Jason tells her. “I don’t want to. The tall pretty lady took me away - my mum and sister will be looking for me.”

The wolf stares back. _They are not coming, little demigod. I will be here when you realise that._

Jason swallows and doesn’t say anything. The wolf is _wrong._ Thalia will come.

xvii. 

Thalia doesn’t come. 

xviii. 

Technically, Jason does not agree to go with Lupa so much as, after two days of no food or water, he has no way of resisting when Lupa plucks him up from the ground by the back of his shirt and carries him away. Jason allows his eyes to drift shut as Lupa lopes through the trees and he slips halfway into sleep, only partly aware of the passage of time. He's roused from his sort-of-nap when he's deposited gently onto a pile of ferns.

Jason forces gummy eyelids to open and promptly jolts backwards from the wolf that's _right in his face._

The wolf, who has a greyer coat and a wider face than Lupa, lets out an amused sounding huff. _Is this him, then Lupa? He doesn't look like much._

Jason licks cracked lips. "What were you expecting, exactly?"

_Someone a little taller, for a start._

Jason scowls, because that was _rude_. "I'm two and a half, I've barely started growing yet."

 _Be nice, Avitus,_ a second voice chimes in, and Jason focuses beyond the large wolf in his immediate field of vision to more of his surroundings.

Half a dozen wolves are lounging around on the open ground in front of a tall set of cliffs. A waterfall crashes down the rockface and into a stream that burbles away into the trees. Jason can see a small cave a little way up the cliff face. The whole place feels wild in a way that makes Jason think that humans - people - haven’t visited here in a very long time. 

_Welcome to my pack, Jason Grace. This is our home base, so to speak. We return here for some of the winter months, and for some periods of training._ Lupa gives Jason the barest bones of an explanation, and really hits him then, that this is actually happening.

His family had decided to give him away. He’s not going back. 

Jason's eyes burn. He closes his eyes and rubs desperately at them, but his throat goes tight and he's unable to stop the tears that spill down his cheeks. A warm, furry body presses against his side. Jason buries his face into the wolf's coat and sobs. The wolf, Latia, as he later finds out, allows Jason to cry until he runs out of tears and energy and Jason curls up into a ball, utterly numb.

On that first day, the wolves feed Jason a tiny square of something that they call ambrosia, that tastes like the pancakes Thalia sometimes makes, fresh off the griddle and covered in maple syrup. It burns on the way down, but he wakes the next morning from a deep, dreamless sleep, filled to the brim with energy. 

The wolves put that energy to good use. Jason can barely keep up with them when they run, and he rarely has any energy in the evenings to do more than eat whatever food the wolves give him and promptly fall asleep. The weather turns warmer, summer fully sinking its dry fangs into the west coast of the states. The nights are hot and the days longer and hotter, but Jason only ever seems to feel numb. Like his heart froze over sometime during the nights he spent waiting for a family that never came and never managed to thaw again.

The weeks pass in a repetitive cycle of running, or sometimes playing a weird sort of hide-and-seek, with the occasional rest day scattered amongst them. Jason stops thinking about his mom and Thalia so much. Stops thinking so much, period. It seems easier that way. 

He doesn’t notice the concerned glances that the wolves exchange over his head, but he does notice when the pack doesn’t return to the cave for several days, instead continuing to roam further and further north.

“Are we going somewhere in particular?” Jason eventually ask Lupa.

Lupa nudges him gently with her snout. _There have been whispers of a certain breed of monsters spawning in unusual numbers. We’re heading elsewhere whilst they’re dealt with._

Jason accepts the explanation with a wordless nod. Two days after that, the wolves leave Jason to his own devices for a day, providing that he didn’t stray too far from the small lake that they pack had slept near the previous night. 

Later, Jason will look back on this moment and wonder exactly what the wolves thought was going to happen when they left him on his own, because Jason’s track record at staying out of trouble when left alone is only marginally better than his cousin’s. And that’s not saying much. 

xix.

“What are you doing?”

xx.

This is After. 

At the entirely unexpected words from right behind him, Jason shrieks, startles, and loses his balance on the log overhanging a small stream. A pair of hands latch onto the back of his shirt, but it’s too late, and two boys fall into the water with a twin pair of splashes.

Jason panics a little when he hits the water, because he doesn’t actually know how to swim. His mum had never taught him, and Thalia hadn’t liked it very much either. But before he has a chance to do more than flail a little, he’s hauled upwards into the sunshine. 

Jason sputters and scrabbles around with his feet for a few moments before he manages to plant his feet on the bottom of the stream. 

“I’m sorry! Are you okay?”

Jason blinks. Reaches out and pokes a finger into the cheek of the dark-haired, green-eyed boy standing waist-deep in the water in front of him. 

“You’re real.”

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Jason cringes, because that was rude, wasn’t it? But the boy just laughs, a bright smile spreading across his face. The other boy lets go of Jason’s shirt and takes a step back. 

“Last time I checked!”

“Sorry - I’ve not. I haven’t seen any people -” _wait, are the wolves people?_ “ - kids for a while.” A hot flush spreads across Jason’s cheeks and he turns and starts wading out of the water. 

“Hey - wait!” The other boy splashes up next to him and scrambles up the river bank with him. As soon as they’re on dry ground, he holds out a hand in Jason’s direction.

“I’m Percy. Jackson. I mean it’s actually Perseus, but the only person who ever calls me by that is my mum when I’m in trouble, so - Percy.”

Jason stares at the offered hand, then back up to Percy’s face. Then, carefully, he reaches out and shakes it. “Jason. Jason Grace.”

xxi

The pack finds Jason shortly after Percy introduces himself. The first signal of their arrival is the obvious crackle and snap of twigs beneath heavy paws, followed by the rustle of leaves as the wolves emerge from the undergrowth. 

He isn’t expecting Percy to forcibly shove Jason back, planting himself between Jason and the wolves slinking out of the trees.

"Stay behind me, Jason!" 

Jason opens his mouth, closes it again and can’t find anything to say past the unfamiliar warmth curling in his chest. 

_Well this_ is _a curious affair._

Percy jumps. Lets out a faint squeak. "Did that wolf just _speak?_ "

"It's okay, Percy," Jason says, tugging gently on Percy's shirt. "I know these wolves. This is Lupa and her pack." 

Percy cranes his head around to look at Jason, his expression flat. "You know a pack of talking wolves." 

Jason shrugs. "I live with them? Sort of. For now."

Percy frowns. His eyes dart between Lupa and Jason. “Why are you living with them?”

 _He was given to me._

At her words, Percy focuses on the wolf crouched in the centre of the clearing.

 _I am Lupa. I once raised Romulus and Remus in the times of the Roman Empire. The gods of the Romans live yet, and the lives of their half-divine, half-mortal children are rarely safe._

"Not safe." Percy echoes, chewing on his lip. "Like - from things that look like people at first but then you look again and you realise that they're not. Normal people. That follow you sometimes."

Lupa almost smiles. _You have sharp eyes, little demigod._

“Thanks?” 

Jason stares at Percy, heart pounding in his chest. “You’re a demigod. Like me?” 

Percy folds his arms across his chest and rocks back on heels. “Well, I don’t know my dad. My mom said that he was ‘lost at sea’, when I asked.” The sunlight filtering through the trees reflect of off Percy’s eyes and for a moment they flash bright green. “I guess… I guess he’s not dead then?”

Percy’s eyes dart back to Lupa. “If the wolf is right and one of my parents is a god.”

_You are correct, Jason. Perseus is a demigod, like you. Which makes you family, on your father’s side. But his human mother has not asked for him to be trained, and she will be looking for him soon enough._

“Oh,” Jason breaths out, his shoulders slumping. For a minute, he’d thought - 

“Well, my mom isn’t here yet.” Percy winks at Jason. “So I can play a little longer, what do you say?”

And Jason nods, wanting to cling on to the little bit of time he has left with Percy.

xxii.

The afternoon melts into the evening, and drifts into the next morning, and the pack still lingers by the shore of the lake. Percy’s mother (call me Sally!) had found them, and after scolding Percy for wandering off without telling her, had been happy to let Percy spend time with Jason.

One day turns into two, and a heavy feeling sits in Jason’s gut and refuses to budge at the thought of Percy leaving. Leaving him. 

_ (Just like his mom left him, like his sister, because who wants Jason Grace in their family -)  _

But then the last morning dawns, bright and clear. 

Jason doesn’t understand at first, because Percy’s mom, (and apparently his Aunt, as far as Percy is concerned), is leaving, and _Percy isn’t going with her._

Percy isn’t going, because he’s staying with Jason. Even though he has a parent who loves him, who didn’t want to give him away, but who asked Percy what he wanted and Percy chose to stay.

Jason can’t explain why he’s crying, exactly. But his cousin’s arm, flung over his shoulder, is warm and a little heavy and feels inexplicably solid. Grounding. For the first time in a long time, Jason falls asleep that night feeling warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I meant to get further along with the timeline than I actually did in this chapter, but life conspired against me. Whelp.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, would love to know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone wants to chime in with ideas please do - I also made a Tumblr post with more thoughts [here](https://eringeosphere.tumblr.com/post/186136080459/raised-by-wolves-au).


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